A Vengeful Heart
by CupcakeGal
Summary: A much needed trip to the Summer Palace becomes treacherous for Snow and Charming as someone seeks vengeance for an old grudge. A mini-adventure set in the first few months of their return to the Enchanted Forest during the missing year.
1. Prologue

**A Vengeful Heart**

_Summary: A much needed trip to the Summer Palace becomes treacherous for Snow and Charming as someone seeks vengeance for an old grudge. A mini-adventure set in the first few months of their return to the Enchanted Forest during the missing year._

_A/N: New fic, yay! This one was inspired by a dream I had and a desire to write Snow and Charming in a more action-orientated setting since I usually focus on the emotional and communicative aspects of their relationship. I'm not sure how long this is going to be since I only have it roughly plotted out, but hopefully you'll join me for the ride._

_As always, feedback is much appreciated!_

_Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters belong to ABC…all I own is a giant cup of coffee to keep me awake until 1:30am so I can see Australia take on Netherlands in the World Cup._

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**Prologue**

"Your highnesses, I must protest! That land has belonged to my family for ten generations and even in times of hardship my ancestors never sold off even a tiny parcel of it, let alone given away a third of it for free. I do not understand why I must suffer…"

"Enough."

Charming's words were firm yet calm, bringing the farmer's loud diatribe to a halt much to Snow's relief. Her head was pounding and she did not know how much longer she would've been able to hold a civil tongue.

"I understand your position, truly I do. But the areas of habitable land have been drastically reduced due to the combined effects of the curse, the ogres and years of neglect. Everyone is working their hardest to rehabilitate as much of it as we can, but it will take time. In the interim, sacrifices must be made. Your farmland is rather vast and mostly preserved and therefore a prime candidate to be shared until more becomes viable once again. Therefore, I am sorry but the decree stands."

The farmer looked for a moment as if he might protest further, before he sighed and nodded his acknowledgment of her husband's words. He was not the first to be unhappy with the measures they'd started to implement to rebuild the kingdom and she was sure he would not be the last. She'd forgotten the stresses of ruling…stresses multiplied tenfold by the state of the Enchanted Forest upon their return and the emotional trauma of the circumstances surrounding it. Part of her simply wanted to curl up in bed with Charming for a week and forget all responsibility. She'd lived without the full burden of pressure for so long it was hard to shoulder it again.

Lost in thought as she was, she did not realize Charming had called for an end to the public session until his warm hand curled gently around her shoulder.

"Snow?"

She lifted her head to give him a tired smile.

"Come on," he said quietly, "We're finished for the day."

She rose from her chair and let him guide her out of the throne room and towards their chambers.

"You did well in there," she commented as they started to ascend the stairs, "I'm sorry I didn't contribute more."

"It's alright," he assured her, "We do this together remember? Which means when one of us isn't feeling well, the other steps up."

He glanced down at her with a concerned gaze.

"A headache again?"

She nodded, wincing slightly before a wry grin crossed her lips.

"Maybe my head isn't used to being weighed down again by all of this hair."

She twirled a lock of it in her free hand. She'd gotten so used to her short hair that realizing it had magically regrown to its previous length upon her return had been somewhat startling.

"If it is that much of a bother, you can cut it. I don't think the kingdom would collapse if Snow White had short hair," Charming teased, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

She just shook her head. In some way, she needed it long…needed to remind herself she was once more part of a fairytale.

"I don't think so…besides, I know you missed it."

"I love you anyway you look."

She merely raised her eyebrow at him.

"Alright, maybe I missed it a little," he admitted sheepishly.

They reached the door to their chambers, escaping into the relative privacy afforded by the space no-one else entered unless they asked first.

"Well, if you do not wish to cut it, may I offer my services to ease your headache milady?"

"You may kind sir."

Stripping down to his trousers and tunic, Charming sat up against their headboard. Losing her shoes and her slightly uncomfortable outer dress, she lay down between his legs. Head resting low on his broad chest, she let her eyes flutter closed as he brought his strong fingers up to rub soothing circles against her temples.

They lay for a while in silence, Snow relaxing into her husband's embrace and letting his hands work away the lingering aches and tension which were far too common for her these days.

"What's really wrong?"

Charming's quiet question seemed sudden, but Snow knew it was coming. She could never truly hide anything from him and didn't want to in most cases. She sighed, gently pushing up off his chest so she could roll over and rest her chin against his chest.

"I'm just…readjusting to being back here and everything that entails. The rebuilding, the threat of Regina's sister, the responsibility of showing a strong front to everyone and…"

She trailed off, but she knew Charming could see what she couldn't voice written in the sadness of her eyes.

"Missing Emma and Henry," he finished, wrapping his arms around her in a gesture of comfort, "Me too."

"Sometimes I wish we could escape everything for a while," she whispered, shifting upwards so she could bury her head in her favourite place, the curve of his neck which seemed to be made just for her.

"Maybe we can."

"What?"

He looked down at her, a thoughtful look on his handsome features.

"We know the Summer Palace is still intact and it's not far from here. How about we take a small vacation, a few days for ourselves."

"Really?"

"Really. Between Regina, Red, the dwarves, even Robin Hood, they should be able to keep the kingdom from imploding for a little while," he said with a small grin, before cupping her cheek in his palm, "We haven't had much time to ourselves since we've been here, to come to terms with everything."

She nodded, an expression of gratitude starting to spread across her face.

"Besides, I've missed our adventures," he finished, echoing her words from months before.

"Me too," she breathed out, "Alright, let's do it…tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he affirmed, lifting a hand to smooth back an unruly curl from her face as she pressed her lips to his in a loving kiss. Both of them became lost in each other as they often did, the promise of tomorrow's journey warming their hearts.

_A forest away though, voices in the fading light were plotting._

_"__But how are we to reach them? The castle…"_

_"__Is well defended yes, but they won't stay within its confines forever."_

_"__And when they venture out, I will have my revenge."_


	2. Life Is A Road

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and review the prologue…hopefully this continues living up to your expectations! I'm not going to say much about this chapter except for…don't kill me when you reach the end…_

_As always, feedback is much appreciated!_

_Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters belong to ABC…all I own is a purple rolling case I'm currently packing to take on a road trip to my Dad's hometown tomorrow!_

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**Chapter 1: Life Is A Road**

"Are you sure about this?"

Snow finished attaching her saddle bag to the side of her horse before she looked over to where Red was leaning against one of the stable's support poles.

"I'm sure…it's only for a few days."

"A few days when you and Charming will be away from the protection of the castle with the Wicked Witch roaming who knows where…"

"Red, we're not exactly strangers to protecting ourselves…we may have been away from here for a long time but that doesn't mean we've forgotten all the lessons we learned by surviving through a war here," Snow reassured softly, crossing the hay-strewn floor.

"I know, doesn't stop me from worrying," Red admitted, pulling Snow into a sisterly hug.

"And I wouldn't expect you to, that's what family does," Snow replied as they separated, squeezing Red's arm gently as she stepped back.

"Fine, you go enjoy frolicking through the woods with your husband…I'll stay here and make sure Regina doesn't accidently throw a fireball at somebody."

Snow chuckled lightly, "Don't worry, she said she'll behave."

Actually she made a sarcastic comment about it being a little late for a second honeymoon before rolling her eyes and stiffly stating that she would refrain from smiting anyone during their absence. A hesitant 'be careful' had followed though, which had warmed Snow's heart.

"Who said they'll behave?"

Charming's voice interrupted their conversation as he stood at the entrance with his hands wrapped around the reins of his grey stallion.

"I'll tell you later," Snow grinned, taking in the sight of her husband decked out in his leather riding gear. If he could admit he'd missed her long hair, she could admit that she'd missed his princely leather outfits.

He nodded, before inclining his head towards the path leading out of the castle grounds.

"Ready to go?"

Snow nodded, checking her saddle one last time before leading her mare out into the fresh open air. Behind them, Red called out a goodbye before heading back into the castle proper as they led their horses to the beginning of the path. Coming to a halt next to Charming, her eyebrow rose questioningly when she noticed the wicker basket firmly secured onto his horse's back.

He saw the direction of her gaze and grinned.

"I thought we could stop for a picnic on the way but don't ask me what's in there…Granny put it together after shooing me out of the kitchens."

"Probably because you can't stop helping yourself to the bowl of berries she's keeping to make pies tomorrow," she teased, before leaning over to press a quick kiss of gratitude upon his cheek.

"Says the woman who happen to be loitering near the kitchens when half a loaf of freshly baked sweetbread mysteriously disappeared," he shot back before neatly side-stepping her playful attempt at an admonishing slap and easily swinging his body up into his saddle.

Following his lead, she settled into her own saddle with a smile on her face. They hadn't even left the castle grounds and she already felt lighter. This little getaway was going to do wonders for her emotional health…she was so glad Charming had suggested it.

"After you darling."

With a quick glance over her shoulder to nod in acknowledgment of his words, she nudged her mare into a slow trot towards the tree line.

An hour later, the two were navigating along a well-trodden path, dappled sunlight streaming through the gaps in the thick forest canopy. Snow had forgotten how much she loved this place, how much she enjoyed the sense of freedom which came from the relative solitude and beautiful scenery. Sometimes her previous life here seemed so distant and removed from who she was now, despite having been back for almost a month.

"Penny for them?"

Charming's voice was quiet as he slightly moved his stallion closer.

"Make that a kiss instead," she demanded with a playful quirk of her lip before she sighed, "Nothing much…I just realized how much I've missed this place. So much of who I am was shaped by events in the forest that a part of me feels like I've come home…especially since you're here with me. If Emma and Henry were here, I'd say this is a perfect moment."

"Hmm, I don't know," Charming started, bringing a frown to Snow's face which quickly cleared as he continued, "I think our daughter would be complaining about having to ride a horse right about now."

Snow couldn't help the small chuckle which escaped, easily able to imagine Emma doing exactly that with a familiar look of distaste upon her face.

"True…but Henry would be having a blast."

"That he would."

"I wonder what they're doing right now," she wondered softly and not for the first time.

"I'm not sure…but whatever they are, I'm sure they're happy," he replied, knowing the true question hidden behind her musings. It was a belief they both clung to…they had to, otherwise the pain of being separated from their family again would have been too much to bear alongside everything else.

"Yeah," she breathed out, before shaking her head to push the melancholic feeling aside for the time being. This time was meant to be a break from all of their worries…and she knew just how to lift her spirits.

"In any case, I think I was wrong before…there is one more thing needed to make this a perfect moment."

"Really? And that would be…"

"Beating you in a race!"

Before Charming could react, she dug her heels into her horse's flank with a cry and spurred the mare forward in a fast gallop along the path.

"Hey!"

His shout was indignant as he coaxed his horse into action, racing after her with a determined glint in his eye.

She could hear the heavy hoof beats of his stallion slowly gaining on her as she pushed further down the path. The rush of wind in her hair, the blur of green passing by, the small snippets of birdsong heard as she passed by tree after tree…she laughed loudly as a sudden burst of happiness suffused her heart. It was hard to remember all of her worries in such a moment when she felt so alive. Behind her, she could faintly hear her husband letting out his own exclamation of joy and knew if she turned, she would see the brilliant smile she loved so much.

It wasn't long before Charming had drawn level with her, his stallion far more powerful and faster than her mare. For a moment she was struck with déjà vu, remembering this very scenario from so many years before when their paths had first crossed. It was that memory which caused her to finally pull back on the reins and slow down, coming to a halt coincidentally by the edge of a large meadow next to the path.

"Why are we stopping…Afraid I was going to win?" Charming questioned with slight breathlessness as he came to a stop next to her.

"Afraid you would get caught up in memories like I did and knock me off my horse," she threw back with sly grin as she swung her leg over to dismount.

"I wouldn't do that," he protested playfully as he dismounted next to her, "I have far easier and more fun ways to pin you underneath me now."

He punctuated his statement with a wink which had Snow shaking her head at the innuendo as she tied her reins around a tree. Stepping off the path into the slightly swaying grass, she took in a deep breath of clean forest air, lightly scented with pine. The meadow before her was gorgeous, full of wildflowers and complete with a small babbling brook cutting across the far corner.

"Beautiful."

Turning at the word, she saw her husband standing a few feet behind her, but his eyes were locked onto her and not the pretty scene in front of them.

It still amazed her that after all this time, he could still bring a light blush to her cheeks when he turned the full force of his attention and adoration towards her. Still, two could play at that game.

"Not so bad yourself there handsome," she replied, crossing the small space between them to twine her arms around his neck and pull his head down to bestow a kiss. Snow was relatively sure that if she had to pick only one thing she could do for the rest of her life, kissing her Charming would be top of the list. After so many years, both with memories and without, where she'd been unable to…she would never again take for granted the simple pleasure of losing herself in his warm embrace whenever she felt like it.

When they finally parted for air, he brushed an extra kiss against her forehead and stepped back, smoothing the collar of his tunic from where she'd grabbed it.

"Picnic?"

"Picnic," she agreed, running a hand through her hair to gently correct the small snarl he'd created with his wandering fingers. Both of their motions had been done without thinking, the product of many times when they'd stolen kisses during quiet moments alone and had to quickly make themselves presentable before company showed up. It was a skill which had definitely come in handy when they'd shared living space with Emma and Henry, neither wanting to traumatize them anymore than they apparently had when they'd been caught in bed.

Having retrieved the basket, Charming grasped her hand with his as they stepped further into the meadow, searching for just the right spot to settle.

They'd only walked a few more paces when a small blur of movement caught Snow's attention from the corner of her eye. She barely had time to register what she was seeing before an arrow whizzed past mere centimeters from her face and embedded itself in a tree on the other side of the meadow.

"Down!"

Charming's shout ended with a grunt which echoed loudly in her ears as they both dropped to the meadow floor as more arrows speared dangerously through the air.

"Dammit, who's shooting at us?" Charming growled, trying to lift up enough to catch a glimpse without putting himself into the line of fire.

"I don't know," Snow grimaced, "But we won't last long out in the open like this…and my damn bow is still in one of the saddle bags."

"I have my sword, but that's not going to do much good unless we get closer."

Snow nodded, scanning around as much as she could from their position low in the grass. She spotted a small rise a few metres ahead, gesturing towards it silently with her hands. It wasn't much, but it would provide them some protection from the incoming barrage.

Crawling towards it as more arrows flew past overhead, she heard Charming chuckle ruefully.

"Should have known we wouldn't be able to have some time alone without finding trouble…we never do."

"Look on the bright side," she offered as they reached the rise and huddle against it, "At least it isn't the Wicked Witch."

"Yeah?"

"I doubt arrows are part of her repertoire."

"True."

"Of course that doesn't help narrow down who it could be."

"We can figure that out after we get out of here."

Charming rose up on his haunches, enough so that he could see across to the tree line. Snow did the same, trying to discern the exact direction of the attack.

"I think there's only a couple of shooters, we might be able to…"

His sentence trailed off abruptly with a groan as he suddenly slumped next to her.

"Charming?"

Snow's voice trembled with worry as she rolled him towards her, her eyes widening in horror.

"Charming!"


	3. Love Is A River

_A/N: Thank you to everyone for the feedback! Sorry this has taken a while, I've been working extra shifts to cover for a co-worker's absence and it has severely cut into my writing time. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, and I forgot to say last chapter that I'm taking the titles from the song 'At The Beginning' by Richard Marx…bonus points if you know what princess movie it comes from ;) _

_As always, feedback is much appreciated!_

_Disclaimer: OUAT and all of its characters belong to ABC…all I own is a brand new iPad case which is the cover of Henry's storybook!_

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**Chapter 2: Love Is A River**

Snow's heart clenched in her chest as she took in the wooden missile lodged into husband's chest, buried deep into his right shoulder.

"I'm fine," he breathed out with a grunt, clutching underneath the arrow, "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," she hissed, trying to inspect the wound but unable to due to the thick leather of his jerkin, "We need to get this off so I can see how bad it is."

"Snow," he said firmly, placing his hand over where hers rested on his chest, "Just pull the arrow out, we need to move and quickly."

More arrows whizzing past their head punctuated the urgency of their situation and Snow gave in with reluctant nod. Placing one hand against his chest for leverage, she grasped the tail end of the arrow in the other.

"This will hurt."

Charming just chuckled ruefully, "I know…not the first time I've been through this, remember?"

"I'm trying not to…you, dear husband, have a tendency to be shot or stabbed full of holes far more than I would like," Snow murmured.

Charming's reply was cut off by a pained groan as she pulled out the arrow, quickly ripping a strip of fabric off the hem of her riding tunic and pressing it against the now bleeding wound. Knowing they didn't have the time for either of them to keep pressure against it until the bleeding stopped, she ripped off another strip and tied the wadded fabric in place around his shoulder.

"That will do for now," she said softly before leaning forward to press a soothing kiss against his brow.

"Maybe Regina should have made you a nurse in Storybrooke," he responded with a small smirk before his expression became serious, "Any ideas of how to escape from our current predicament?"

She nodded.

"We can't get back to the horses, that way is too exposed but if we manage to follow that brook over there, it should join the main river which isn't far from here and we can lose them in the water."

He followed her line of sight, weighing up the chances of success. The rise they were sheltered behind ran towards the brook, which itself snaked into the tree line rather close to their position. Once they were amongst the trees, it would be far easier to evade any pursuers and dodge any incoming arrows.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he murmured, shifting his shoulder to test its movability and barely suppressing a wince at the sharp sting of pain which radiated outwards from the still bleeding wound.

Shaking it off, he grasped her hand as they crept amongst the grass until the brook flowed past them only a few feet away. The frequency of the arrows had slowed, their attackers obviously unsure of where exactly they now were.

"Ready to run?" Snow asked, a hint of excitement mixing with the worry in her eyes.

"With you? Always," Charming responded, leaning across to press a quick yet passionate kiss upon her lips.

Pulling back, they both readied themselves…and with a single nod, they leapt from their hiding place and sprinted along the brook's edge out of the meadow. It took a moment for their attackers to sport them and that was more than enough time for the two of them to race into the thick of the forest before the barrage of arrows began again in earnest. Weaving amongst the trunks, they ran towards the sound of rushing water, pushing themselves until they were breathless. Behind them, they could hear their pursuers crashing through the undergrowth. It wasn't the first time they had found themselves in a situation like this and despite the danger, the adrenalin coursing through their veins caused a spark of excitement inside their hearts.

Suddenly, the brook they were following veered off to the right and merged with the fast-flowing waters of the kingdom's main river. Without hesitation, they plunged into the murky water, Snow silently thankful she'd chosen one of her least complicated and therefore lighter riding outfits. The current was fierce, dragging them sideways for every few feet they managed to swim ahead and causing their muscles to ache with the effort required to keep moving. Nevertheless, they forged ahead, matching each other stroke for stroke though Charming lagged slightly behind, unable to fully rotate his right arm. Finally, their feet touched rock and they stumbled out of the water onto the riverbank, chests heaving breathlessly.

Snow tugged her husband behind a large boulder, both of them collapsing behind it just as a group of men emerged from the trees on the far side of the river.

They were roughly dressed, a mish-mash of rough tunics and worn breeches. Their faces were even rougher, bearded, rugged and hidden in shadow. Armed to the teeth, their drawn bows swiveled in every direction as they searched fruitlessly for Snow and Charming's trail.

"Do you recognize any of them?" Snow whispered into Charming's ear. He shook his head in the negative, though that did not discount their paths crossing before. Many mercenaries had joined King George and Regina's forces during the war for the kingdom and given their appearance, it was entirely possible these men had been some of them. Of course, they might have also passed in the street in Storybrooke…it was surprising how much people looked and carried themselves different depending which realm they were in.

After a few moments of gruff chatter, spoken too lowly for them to make any of it out, the men moved off along the direction of the river. It was exactly what they had hoped would happen, their attackers believing they had allowed themselves to be carried downstream. They waited a few minutes longer to ensure the men wouldn't double back before emerging from behind the boulder.

"That was interesting," Charming noted.

"Being shot at by unknown assailants for an unknown reason is interesting?"

"Well…yeah."

Snow just shook her head before she noticed her makeshift bandage on his shoulder had obviously come loose while they were crossing the river.

"Come on, I need to check your wound properly."

She eyed their surroundings, trying to place exactly where they were.

"I think there's a natural bower just a bit further along the river...it will give us some protection if they come back."

"We need to retrieve the horses if they're still there," Charming reminded her as she grasped his uninjured arm and started to walk along the stony bank.

"We can cross back towards the meadow even further up…there used to be a rudimentary bridge that hopefully hasn't collapsed in the past few decades."

"If it has, at least we're already soaked," he teased lightly, nudging her gently, "Why do I always seem to end up in rivers around you?"

"Maybe I just like the way you look when you're all…drenched," she shot back lightly, squeezing his arm.

"I knew you were only with me for my looks."

Snow just grinned.

A few minutes passed before they stumbled upon the bower, a fallen tree covered with hanging moss which created a hidden cave of sorts. Sweeping aside the moss, they settled themselves within on a small log.

Without prompting, Charming started to unlace his jerkin but the lack of movement available in his right arm made it difficult, the exertion of swimming not having helped with the pain.

"Let me," Snow murmured and together they managed to remove both his jerkin and his tunic to expose the inflamed wound underneath.

Snow inspected it closely, gently probing the edges with careful fingers as Charming bit his lip to stifle a small groan of pain as she passed over a particularly sore spot. After a while she let out a small sigh of relief.

"It's not too deep and the bleeding had mostly stopped. If I wrap it, it should be fine until we can get some of the healing paste from the castle."

"Use my tunic this time, you won't have any of yours left if you tear anymore off of the hem."

"Such a gentleman," she grinned, doing as her husband said and then beginning to wrap the makeshift bandage tightly around his shoulder and over the wound. After winding it around a few times and tying it off across his back, she pressed a small kiss on top of the bandage.

With his free arm, Charming pulled her closer against him and returned a kiss of his own, though this one was to her forehead.

"Thank you love."

They sat like that for a moment, foreheads touching and arms wrapped around each other. A short time to revel in each other's presence and the fact that they were alright for the most part…because no matter what, the strength of love they drew from each other would always overcome any obstacle.

"Any inklings as to why those men were after us?"

Snow's muffled question broke the silence.

"I doubt they were thieves, they could have easily raided our horses while we were pinned down but they were only focused on shooting at us," Charming mused, pulling back enough from their embrace so he could see Snow's face.

"Which means the reason is most likely personal."

"Someone unhappy with being back here?"

"Maybe," Snow conceded, "Though that wasn't truly our fault."

"The only way we'll know for sure is if we ask them."

A slow smile spread across Snow's face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Set a trap?" Charming questioned with a grin.

"Set a trap," Snow confirmed, "It's better than retreating to the castle and wondering whether they'll be bold enough to attack us there and put other lives at risk."

"I won't be much good until my shoulder heals a little."

"After we get the horses, we'll continue to the summer palace…there should still be some medicinal supplies there for you and I know that place like the back of my hand…"

"So if they track us there, we'll have the advantage," Charming finished.

Snow nodded then found herself being tugged forward into a heated kiss, her husband's lips warm and hungry against her own. Losing herself in the kiss, she blinked to clear her head when he pulled back and brushed a more chaste kiss against her now reddened lips.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.

Charming just shrugged nonchalantly, "Do I need a reason?"

She searched his eyes, a soft love-filled smile lighting up her features.

"No," she replied, "To the horses?"

"To the horses."


End file.
